Friday, January 11, 2013

Some people are hellbent on using technology to remove human
judgment from truck driving, but where will that leave the industry – and more
importantly, the drivers – when technological “solutions” also strip away
dignity and common sense?

I have to admit I went on a rant this morning as I pondered
an FMCSA-sponsored study of technology that will be used to monitor and assess driver
drowsiness. It really got me thinking about the Big Brother aspects of trucking
and the continued creep toward generations of undertrained and inexperienced
drivers behind the wheel.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
study, fatigue-monitoring technology would use cameras, sensors and other
gadgetry in the truck cab designed to react to certain triggers. Perhaps the
driver’s eyes are closed or not on the road, or a driver has yawned a few too
many times in a given period of time. Perhaps the truck departed its lane or
the tires hit a rumble strip.

When the technology – or someone monitoring it – picks up on
the signs, the driver of the truck is hit with an alarm bell, a seat vibration
or a puff of cool air in the face intended to snap that person awake.

Many of us have done things like this voluntarily when we
are tired behind the wheel – we open a window, we crank the stereo, we sing
loudly, we get more coffee and press on. The difference between that and a
fatigue-monitoring system is that it’s someone else or a gadget taking away the
person’s judgment. (That judgment, by the way, should involve pulling over to
rest if you find yourself singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” while shrugging violently
and slapping your own cheeks to stay awake).

Do we really need a gadget or someone on the other end of a
camera to tell when a driver is tired? And, more importantly, what assurances
can the FMCSA give us that carriers will not use these technologies to harass
drivers into driving even when they’re in need of a break?

We can see a couple of scenarios playing out.

One scenario, and we’ll call it the ideal one, a driver
receives an alert after closing his eyes a little too long for the gadget’s
liking. He’s tired and needs to get off the road, and his carrier calls to make
sure he’s OK and encourages him to take a break.

The second scenario, one that we can foresee happening, is
that a driver is tired and wants to pull off, but the device keeps “reviving”
him and he stays on the road. Perhaps the carrier or dispatcher scolds the
driver to keep going, saying the load has to get there yesterday or he’s going
to be punished or fired. He has no choice but to fight through.

How long can a driver like that hold on, stretched to the
limit? Will this scenario create a new breed of driver, one that is perpetually
tired but uses the alarm bells and puffs of air to triumph over circadian
rhythm?

These are the things I think about when I hear that
technology is being used to monitor drowsy driving.

It’s much like an EOBR – an electronic logging device that
has no regard for human judgment related to being tired or fatigued. As long as
there’s time on the clock for that driver, the carrier or dispatcher can harass
that driver into fighting through tiredness or fatigue.

Some carriers are already monitoring their drivers using
in-cab cameras and other technologies. They get to monitor productivity while
keeping tabs on their workforce. They want those wheels turning, sometimes at
all costs.

“Keep moving, driver. We don’t care if you’re fatigued. You
have time on the clock and we’re going to blast you with puffs of air and ring
bells in your ears until the feeling passes. And if that isn’t enough, we’ve
got a shock collar set up to make sure the load crosses the finish line.”

And some people wonder why there’s a so-called “driver shortage.”

What happens when law enforcement gets a hold of crash data
that clearly shows a carrier had forced a tired driver to continue driving?

About this blog

The Land Line Media Blog gives you an insider's look at the trucking industry and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, told through the stories, anecdotes and opinions of the Land Line Magazine staff.